1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of physical assistance apparatus to assist people who have back problems and other physical disabilities to enable them to walk better, to facilitate more comfortable seating, and to enable the person to move form one location to another without assistance from a third party.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, devices to assist a person with disabilities to walk from one location to another or to support the person in a seated condition are known in the prior art. The following 21 patents and published patent applications are the closest prior art references to the present invention unique walking chair.
1. U.S. Pat. No. 2,312,602 issued to Judson O. Taylor on Mar. 2, 1943 for “Walking And Rolling Chair” (hereafter the “Taylor Patent”);
2. U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,912 issued to Mary M. Harroun on Oct. 22, 1991 for “Combination Chair/Walker” (hereafter the “'912 Harroun Patent”);
3. U.S. Pat. No. 5,112,069 issued to Richard E. Aldus et al. on May 12, 1992 for “Travel-Air Chair” (hereafter the “Aldus Patent”);
4. U.S. Design Pat. Des. 326,250 issued to Beverly J. Oliver on May 19, 1992 for “Combined Wheel Chair And Walker” (hereafter the “'250 Oliver Design Patent);
5. U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,731 issued to Candace L. Johnson on Jul. 6, 1993 for “Combination Wheel Chair And Walker” (hereafter the “'731 Johnson Patent”);
6. U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,122 issued to Julius H. Jacobson, II et al. on Jun. 14, 1994 for “Combined Walker And Wheelchair” (hereafter the “Jacobson Patent”);
7. U.S. Design Pat. No. 365,785 issued to James O. Sawyer on Jan. 2, 1996 for “Walker” (hereafter the “Sawyer Design Patent”);
8. U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,358 issued to Candace L. Johnson on Sep. 24, 1996 for “Combination Wheelchair And Walker” (hereafter the “'358 Johnson Patent”);
9. U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,063 issued to Brian Peter Doyle et al. on Feb. 10, 1998 for “Walking Aid” (hereafter the “Doyle Patent”);
10. U.S. Pat. No. 5,741,020 issued to Mary M. Harroun on Apr. 21, 1998 for “Collapsable Combination Chair Walker” (hereafter the “'020 Harroun Patent”);
11. U.S. Pat. No. 6,338,493 issued to Eli Wohlgemuth et al. on Jan. 15, 2002 for “Walker Chair” (hereafter the “Wohlgemuth Patent”);
12. U.S. Pat. No. 6,340,168 issued to Norman Woleen on Jan. 22, 2002 for “Convertible Chair And Walker Assembly” (hereafter the “Woleen Patent”);
13. U.S. Pat. No. 6,494,469 issued to Yasunori Hara et al. on Dec. 17, 2002 for “Rolling Walker” (hereafter the “Hara Patent”);
14. U.S. patent application Publication No. 2003/0006578 issued to Mauricio Melgarejo et al. published on Jan. 9, 2003 for “Size-Adjustable Laterally-Folding Tilting-Frame Wheelchair” (hereafter the “Melgarejo Published Patent Application”);
15. U.S. Pat. No. 6,659,478 issued to Bjarki Hallgrimsson et al. on Dec. 9, 2003 for “Combination Walker And Transport Chair” (hereafter the “Hallgrimsson Patent”);
16. U.S. patent application Publication No. 2005/0057021 issued to Etsuo Miyoshi published on Mar. 17, 2005 for “Wheelchair Useable As Walking Stick” (hereafter the “Miyoshi Published Patent Application”);
17. U.S. Pat. No. 6,921,101 issued to Givi Lauren et al. on Jul. 26, 2005 for “Combined Wheelchair, Walker, And Sitting Chair” (hereafter the “Lauren Patent”);
18. European Patent Application No. EP 1,092,411 issued to Yasunori Hara et al. on Apr. 18, 2001 for “Rolling Walker” (hereafter the “Hara European Patent Application”);
19. European Patent Application No. EP 1,516,609 issued to Etsuo Miyoshi on Mar. 23, 2005 for “Wheelchair Useable As Walking Stick” (hereafter the “Miyoshi European Patent Application”);
20. PCT Published Patent Application No. WO 95/31169 issued to Jimmy Grotner et al. published on Nov. 23, 1995 for “Combination Wheelchair And Walker” (hereafter the “Grotner PCT Published Patent Application”);
21. U.S. Published patent application 2005/0156395 A1 for a “Rolling Walker With Arm Rest Platforms” applied for by David L. Bohn and which was published on Jul 21, 2005.
The Taylor Patent issued in 1943 discloses a walker. It is essentially a conventional walker which does have a wide handlebar (55) but it is not positioned so that it would be viable to use to push the chair with a person's chest as a walker.
The '912 Harroun Patent is a “Combination Chair And Walker” but the walking portion is in the front of a user and the user is walking by pushing the chair between the seat and the front pull where the user is able to push the chair and walk. The user can also sit in the chair and move it with the user's feet.
The Aldus Patent discloses the concept of having a “Travel-Air Chair” which can be more easily disassembled and stowed. The backrest does not function as a device to enable a user to push the chair with the user's chest.
The '250 Oliver Design Patent is a design patent which protects the shape of this particular chair.
The '731 Johnson Patent discloses a “Combination Wheel Chair And Walker”. It functions as a walker in that someone can walk behind the device and there are hand grips (37 and 38) by which the chair can be stopped either by someone pushing a person seated in the chair or by the person themselves using the chair as a walker. However, a bar (25) across the back is not wide enough so that the bar does not really function as a leaning bar. The patent also discloses arm bars but they are not padded and they are not adjustable and rotatable.
The Jacobson Patent discloses a “Combined Walker And Wheelchair”. In this patent the portion that is used as a walker is the arm bar (30) which has adjustable supporting members (32 and 28) so that the height can be adjusted to the person's desired height. There is also the seat (40) so the person can sit on it and presumably be pulled from the front or pushed from the back.
The Sawyer Patent is also a design patent that protects the shape of this specific walker.
The '358 Johnson Patent is again for a “Combination Wheelchair And Walker”. In this case what is shown is the widened arm bars (31) but the are non-rotatable. There is a backrest (44) but it does not function as a leaning bar to push the chair.
The Doyle Patent involves a “Walking Aid” in the simply standard walker by today's standards with a seat and arms to push the person.
The '020 Harroun Patent is similar to the previously discussed Harroun Patent and is best illustrated to show that a user essentially is between the seat and the front bar (45) and can use the wheelchair as a walker to basically push the chair forward.
The Wohlgemuth Patent discloses a walker and the bar (80) in the back is designed for a person to push someone seated within the chair. From its positioning relative to the seat, it is unlikely that it could function as a device where a user can lean his shoulder against it and use it as walker.
The Woleen Patent discloses a “Convertible Chair and Walker Assembly” which has the ability to be converted from a chair to a walker.
The Hara Patent discloses a “Rolling Walker”, which can be used as a seat and pushed the other way as a walking chair.
The Melgarejo Published Patent Application discloses a wheelchair with a backrest and handgrips which enable the chair to be pushed. The chair can also be folded up for transportation.
The Hallgrimsson Patent is a “Combination Walker and Transport Chair”. It discloses a seat for a person to sit on and horizontal hand rails to facilitate pushing the person.
The Miyoshi Published Patent Application discloses a “Wheelchair Useable as a Walking Stick”, wherein the wheelchair can be compressed together so that the grip (5) can be used as a walking stick.
The Lauren Patent is a “Combined Wheelchair, Walker, and Sitting Chair”. The handle elements (180-190) are pivotal between a used position shown in FIG. 1, having a second top brace element (116) located between the distal end (194) of the second handle element (190) and the proximal end (192) of the second handle element (190) and a stored position, shown in FIG. 2. However, in use the handle element is horizontally oriented.
The European Patent Application is for the “Rolling Walker” and is an application which is the same as the previously discussed Hara Patent.
The Miyoshi European Patent is again the same as the previously discussed Miyoshi Patent and is able to convert the wheelchair into a walking stick.
The Grotner PCT Application is a “Combination Wheelchair and Walker”, which is configured so that it can be pushed by a person whereas in FIG. 14 it is converted so that the person can sit in the chair and be pushed.
The Bohn Published Patent Application is a “Rolling Walker with Arm Rest Platforms”, which shows fairly wide arm platforms (22) but they are not padded and they are not rotatable. The chair can be used as a walker but again only by gripping the vertical arms (28) and pushing the chair and with no ability to push with the shoulder.
In general, the prior art inventions are substantially the same because they are primarily crutches with poorly designed seats and only a single bar for a seat back.
There is a significant need for an improved apparatus which enables a person with back problems or other physical disabilities to walk from one location to another and to comfortably sit in a chair in spite of physical problems such as back pain.